On this page you can find resources to help your church organise celebrations to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday in June 2016.
To celebrate HM the Queen’s 90th birthday and her role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, every parish church is being encouraged to organise a festival and an exhibition to mark the Queen's official birthday on the weekend of 10-12 June 2016. The festival could focus on any aspect of the life of your local area that you can think of. Choral music, bell-ringing, photography, baking, beer….
Official celebrations will take place in London between the 10 and 12 June including a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral, a Birthday Parade on Horse Guards Parade and a street party in The Mall. It is envisaged that church events will be integrated into local community celebrations that take place that weekend.
The Church of England’s ChurchCare website provides a central news sharing resource for churches and cathedrals with a virtual map of events and offer tips on themed celebrations, a helpful checklist on how to involve community partners as well as publicity opportunities.
Please email your parish's plans to queensbirthday@churchofengland.org so that they can be added to the Church of England's national celebration map.
Just like the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, HOPE will be supporting churches with resources and ideas to bring communities together for this national celebration. These include:
- A very special, 64-page book focusing on the Queen’s Christian faith as a tribute to her life of service. 'The Servant Queen - and the King She Serves' is a beautifully illustrated short book, which uses the Queen’s own words to draw out the central role of her trust in Jesus Christ, offering an inspiring, multi-faceted insight into a life well-lived for others.
- posters, invitations and bunting from HOPE’s partner CPO
- a booklet to give away to children, published with Scripture Union
- school assembly ideas and lesson plans, also from Scripture Union
- church service ideas and a commemorative, customisable order of service from the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust
- a street-party planning guide from Fusion Youth & Community.
Premier Radio's Society Sunday is an opportunity for churches across the UK to pray for the Queen and her Elected Representatives on the Sunday nearest the Queens Official Birthday. This year Society Sunday will coincide with the Queens 90th birthday and will provide an ideal opportunity for churches across the UK to come together to pray for, and be a blessing in, communities.
Although we do not celebrate HM the Queen's official birthday until June, you can still send her a birthday message on the anniversary of her birth (21 April) by clicking here.